


loud and obnoxious

by tenjima



Series: the principle of the thing [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: !!, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, No Confusing Arguments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:36:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenjima/pseuds/tenjima
Summary: the one where keiji finds himself in a dilemma and so he goes to someone for help (and also kuroo tetsurou is a Die-Hard Flirt)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Series: the principle of the thing [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179185
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	loud and obnoxious

**Author's Note:**

> third installment!!

In all of his years on this earth, Keiji has never met somebody quite like Bokuto Koutarou. This is not a bad thing or a good thing — it is merely a fact.

He supposes it means that Bokuto Koutarou is. Well. He’s fascinating. Bokuto Koutarou breezes through life with the assumption and possibly the expectation that everyone is amazing except for the people who aren’t and anybody who doesn’t like him is background noise and life is short so let’s have fun. He is precisely the type of person Keiji couldn’t imagine himself Being With, ever. Loud and obnoxious meets quiet and anxious — this is not a good mix.

Though Keiji supposes that’s what’s going on with Bokuto’s best friend and a boy they — they being Bokuto and Keiji because apparently they are A Thing now — know. Loud and obnoxious meets quiet and anxious, except Tsukishima Kei, from the little glimpses Keiji has gotten at least, does _not_ seem anxious. He seems…tired, and mostly done with everything and everybody. Keiji feels bad for him, as Keiji knows exactly what it’s like to have to deal/babysit over _every waking second_ of a loud and obnoxious human being. He _knows_. He could be the poster boy for this sort of thing.

He wants to befriend Tsukishima Kei because Tsukishima Kei seems to be in dire need of someone _like him_ , someone to relate to, someone to come to for problems. Someone who knows how to handle the likes of Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou specifically, because the aforementioned somewhat baboons — _lovely_ baboons, of course — are their own special breed of Whatever They Are.

Anyway. Keiji and Bokuto are A Thing now. Maybe. Keiji isn’t sure. They haven’t actually talked about it yet, talked about what they want to be to each other. Keiji isn’t even certain Bokuto likes him like that, since Bokuto projects the same amount of Liking Someone onto everybody he comes across. Sort of like a dog. Going by this logic, a big dog. A husky because of the gray.

Bokuto is in his evening photography class, and evening it most certainly is. The orange-red of the sky casts long shadows over everything, makes Keiji feel nostalgic, back to his hometown on the water and going to the beach to watch the sunset with Hirugami, going to the festivals in the summertime and staying out late, scratching at bug bites for days, sometimes weeks, watching Hirugami eat his entire body weight in the snacks the festivals provided, laughing so hard he had to crouch on the ground to catch his breath.

Keiji stands outside of the library, thinking all this, thinking about Hirugami. He’s forgotten why he’s even come — to pick up a book, he remembers, something about the screenplay he’s writing, but he wasn’t sure if he should wait until tomorrow.

 _Hirugami_.

Keiji makes up his mind and turns, walks away.

* * *

“My help?”

“Yes. You are the only one Bokuto-san talks to about this sort of thing, as far as I know.”

Kuroo smiles, a vicious, cat-like smile, horribly sly. Keiji regrets his decision to come to Kuroo for help.

“Comes at a price,” Kuroo says. Keiji knew he would say that.

“I will _not_ —”

“Help me with Tsukishima Kei.”

“—give you any sort of— Wait, what?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

“I said ‘Help me with Tsukishima Kei.’ What were _you_ going to say?”

Keiji blushes furiously. “Nothing.”

“No no. You said you weren’t going to give me any sort of what, Akaashi?” The grin comes back. It’s terrible. Keiji wants to leave.

“I said nothing,” Keiji says, turns to go because this was definitely A Mistake. Kuroo catches his wrist, holds him back. Keiji is beyond embarrassed. This is not turning out the way he expected it to go. (But then, nothing involving Kuroo Tetsurou and/or Bokuto Koutarou ever goes to plan anyway, so Keiji doesn’t know what or why he expected.)

“You know what I was going to say,” Keiji says, avoids eye contact. He can’t keep the accusatory tone out of his voice, so he doesn’t try. “Don’t be cruel.”

Kuroo laughs. “Yeah, I did. It’s fun messing with you though. That blush is cute, no wonder Kou’s so hung up on you.”

Keiji freezes. “He is?”

The carefree, flirtatious attitude disappears. “Shit. Yeah. He is.”

“Really?”

Kuroo sighs, steps sideways so Keiji can go past him. “Come in.”

* * *

“I guess some people really can be blinded by love.”

“Oh shut up. Don’t act like it’s not the same way with you and that…that boy. Tsukishima.”

Kuroo softens. “Yeah.” He’s not even trying to hide it, not brushing Keiji off with a _Yeah yeah, but we’re talking about you_ or worse — _He’s just a bit of fun_. Keiji wouldn’t know what to do if Kuroo said that. Probably he’d Die. Melt right into the couch he’s sitting on.

“Does he even like you?” Keiji asks, not thinking about how rude that sounds. “Oh,” he backtracks immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“You’re good. Kou makes fun of me for the same reason. I might be way in over my head, right?”

Keiji blushes. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Kuroo grins, that same cat-like grin from before. “You didn’t. So. Kou, huh?”

“Y-Yes.”

“You like him?”

“I may.”

“You may?”

“I’m not sure. I find him…interesting.”

Keiji sees a flash of something cross Kuroo’s face, but it’s gone before it becomes anything.

“And he likes you.”

“I don’t know.”

“No I’m telling you.”

“Oh.”

There’s a pause.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Like. A lot. It’s kind of annoying, if I’m honest. No offense.”

“I—” Keiji doesn’t know what to say to that, so he puts it away for now. He’ll deal with Whatever That Was later. “So what do I do?”

Kuroo shrugs. “Tell him. It can’t possibly go any worse than when I told Kei. Or—” He laughs, almost bitterly “—tried to, anyway.”

“R-Right. But what would I say? I’m not sure Bokuto-san has the attention span to have this sort of conversation.”

“Pretend I’m him.”

“O-Okay. Um. Bokuto-san, I’d like to talk to you.”

Kuroo doesn’t say anything, just stares at Keiji with a sort of frightening intensity. Keiji continues.

“Um, B-Bokuto-san, I…I like you, very much. I would like to know if—”

“Pause,” Kuroo interrupts. “Don’t ask him if he likes you back, he’ll get all flustered and shit and then nothing will ever be accomplished. Just say, plain and simple, _I like you._ Add the ‘very much’ if you wanna be fancy.”

“Right.”

Kuroo grins. It’s different, this time, makes Keiji relax. _He is human_ , Keiji thinks dryly.

“You’ll be fine,” Kuroo assures, kindly. “Wanna bet?”

“O-On what?”

“Twenty bucks says he comes to me, grinning like a madman, and yells at me, ‘Akaashi and I are dating!’”

“Alright.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’re gonna lose.”

Keiji shrugs.

Kuroo cracks the Cat Grin from earlier. Keiji is surprised to find that he doesn’t mind it so much anymore. “You’re cool Akaashi,” Kuroo says, and Keiji finds himself smiling back.

**Author's Note:**

> no nothing is going to or ever will happen between akaashi and kuroo
> 
> ALSO ALSO ALSO. [twitter.](https://twitter.com/tenjima) bam. i finally got it. feel free to check me out! i have absolutely nothing on there bc i just got it yesterday
> 
> fourth installment will be out sometime soon maybe


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